"He was struggling with his mortgage payments," Sanchez said. "I told him to drop by the office. We were trying to work out a loan modification, and we did."

Hoeurn and his wife, 53-year-old Nancy, had each been working at two jobs - and they had two adult children in the home also contributing to a $2,300-a-month mortgage. After Sanchez helped out, the payments dropped to about $900 a month.

"I am very glad and happy to have my payments reduced," said Hoeurn, who works for Stockton Unified School District.

The family qualified under last year's landmark $25 billion attorneys general settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, including Bank of America. The money is aimed at providing relief for distressed homeowners.

The timing couldn't have been better. William and Nancy Hoeurn each lost one of their jobs - and the two children moved out.

William Hoeurn was frustrated before he got help from NeighborWorks. "I applied for a loan modification, but I was told I did not qualify," he said. "Then I talked to my friend at church."

Today, Hoeurn has a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that he is certain he can handle. "I can live here forever," he said.

William Hoeurn came to the United States in 1979 from a refugee camp in Thailand. He arrived in Stockton in 1981, the same year he and Nancy were married.

Keeping their north Stockton home is a dream come true.

"Five months ago, I was scared," he said. "Luis said not to worry. You lucky. You stay."